These are not the best days for Iran’s oil minister Mirkazemi. While came to the ministry just seven months ago, he has already been plagued with three serious issues: his differences with the Majlis; differences with the cabinet, and differences with the officials inside his own ministry. Because of these, the rumor mill has it that he will be the first dismissed minister in the tenth administration. Some experts have even predicted his leave date to be April/May, when energy prices are expected to rise.
Majlis May Impeach
When the list of Ahmadinejad’s cabinet picks was released for the first time, experts viewed Mirkazemi as the strangest pick for the oil ministry. A group of lawmakers lost their cool in the Majlis assembly after Mirkazemi was introduced because they felt their efforts to install Nozari for the post had failed. As a result, during the first meeting between members of the Majlis energy committee and Mirkazemi, several lawmakers set out to humiliate the designee, by asking him technical questions about gasoline ratios and the differences between LNG and LPG. At the end of that meeting, the committee’s chair announced that he opposed Mirkazemi’s for the post. In reality, Katouzian was correct in asserting that if a message was not received from “the above,” Mirkazemi would have been among the group of cabinet picks that, in Bahonar’s words, would not have been confirmed. But Mirkazemi was confirmed, and Majlis lawmakers have held on to their views about his lack of credentials for the job. Last fall, in a meeting held by the mines and industry committee, the committee’s vice-chair categorically said, “We want to ask the oil minister about the meaning of petrochemicals and hear him talk about the difference between this industry and other industries.”
This, however, was not the only problem separating the minister from the Majlis. The main disagreement between the Majlis and the oil ministry since 1386 has been the illegal importing of gasoline, which is done under Ahmadinejad’s direct orders and without permission from the Majlis. Oil ministers have no choice but to follow the government’s orders. Even though preceding oil minister Nozari had specifically told lawmakers in 2007 that he had imported gasoline illegally because of the president’s direct orders, lawmakers continue to ignore the chain and pressure the oil minister instead.
From a technical standpoint, the oil ministry has been in its worst situation in the past ten years. These days are perhaps comparable only to the war era, when preparing the most basic tools and commodities was extremely difficult. Sanctions imposed by the Security Council and the United States have left their impact on the oil industry. This is the ninth administration’s gift to the oil industry.
